A traditional buttery Scottish shortbread covered by a thick layer of caramel and finished off with a chocolate glaze. Three layers of deliciousness! These bars are R.I.C.H, hence the name Millionaire. 😉 If you like Twix bars then you’ll love this dessert. Just a warning…this is a messy dessert. But totally worth every gooey, chocolately bite! Make sure you have lots of napkins on hand for these gooey bars. To cut the bars into neater squares, dip your knife in hot water and pat it dry before slicing. In this recipe I followed the directions to make my own caramel filling, however, if you are in a hurry you can always go the simpler direction and buy two 14 ounce cans of Dulce de Leche. If you decided to use pre-made Dulce de Leche, just heat it up and pour it over the cooled shortbread crust. If you have never made your own Dulce de Leche, I suggest you follow the simple directions to make it, you won’t believe how easy it is! 🙂

To make the shortbread base, preheat the oven to 350℉. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. Place another piece of parchment paper in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter together, about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups of the flour and beat until well combined. Add the egg yolk and beat until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough and your hands with a little flour. Use your hands to gently work the dough into a 6-by-6-inch square. You will have to turn the dough and sprinkle the top with flour as you go. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flour on the surface of the dough. Fold the dough over and knead until incorporated, then flatten the dough into rectangle. Transfer the rectangle to the prepared pan and press it into the pan.

Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake in the center of the oven for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the caramel filling, place the sweetened condensed milk in an oven-proof dish and sprinkle with some kosher salt. Tightly cover with foil.

Place the covered dish in a larger roasting or casserole pan and fill it up with water until it reaches three-quarters of the way up the covered dish to create a water bath. Bake at 425 degrees F for 60-90 minutes stirring every 30 minutes and checking on the water level, adding more as needed, until it is brown and caramel-like. Remove from the oven and whisk until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the cooled shortbread and place the pan in the refrigerator until cool, about two hours.

To make the chocolate glaze, in a large bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled caramel layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.

Put in the refrigerator for one hour, or until the glaze hardens.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so as not to crack the chocolate glaze. Cut into squares and serve.

These look fab! I adore millionaire shortbread and it’s something i have grown up making (I’m Scottish, I think shortbread may be one of the first things I learned to cook as a child)
One thing I will say though, is that I have always been taught to rub the butter and flour together first until the flour is in pea sized pieces as this is what makes the finished product so deliciously short and melt in the mouth. Much like making scones or pastry, when the chunks of cold butter melt in the heat of the oven they release steam which creates little pockets of flakiness….yum yum yum 😀

I have almost the exact same recipe! These are probably the most delicious thing you will ever put in your mouth. I don’t put corn syrup or butter in the chocolate topping, I just melt really high quality dark chocolate and use a warm knife to cut the squares later (as pure chocolate is harder to cut into without squishing the bars).